Bedford looks to World Cup tourism to bring fans for flag football league championship

While FIFA World Cup games take place across North America in 2026, including nine in the home of the Cowboys in Arlington, Bedford will host the championship games for the Global Pro Flag Football League.

Proponents of the move said it could drive sports fans visiting from around the world to Bedford and bring in new revenue to the city of just under 50,000.

Organizers behind the Global Pro Flag Football League want to bring professional men and women’s flag football to new audiences. The league’s commissioner is Marjorie Herrera Lewis, an author and former Dallas Cowboys beat reporter.

“We want to work very closely with the community to get a lot of exposure for Bedford and a lot of foot traffic,” she told KERA. “[That’s] people going into restaurants, staying in hotels and really getting a feel for what we think is just a wonderful, family-friendly city.”

Flag football will be a new addition to the Olympics in 2028. Herrera Lewis anticipates some of the athletes who play in Bedford may also compete in Los Angeles.

Bedford City Council member Joy Donovan Brandon worked closely with Herrera Lewis to bring the games to town. She helped give league representatives a tour of Pennington Field, the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District facility slated to host the games next summer.

“They were so impressed with the facilities, the press box, the beauty of the stadium,” Donovan Brandon told KERA. “And they saw the parking lot, which is quite big.”

Flag football features some important distinctions from tackle football, including a lower likelihood of head injury.

“The games are different than what people are used to,” Donovan Brandon said. “They run continuously. It’s a seven-person team. They’re shorter, so you can knock out a few games in a day.”

Donovan Brandon also highlighted the chance for women to compete in the sport.

“I know locally, Texas Wesleyan University just signed some women to play footballthere. I heard today that UTA has done the same thing,” Donovan Brandon said.

The Global Pro Flag Football League is planning for an All-Star game in the San Francisco Bay Area the same week as the Super Bowl. Their 2026 season concludes in July with men and women’s semifinals and finals in Bedford.